serment

Forms

serment m (plural serments)^[1] Old French sagrament (842), seirement, serement (about 1120) and sairement (about 1155), before serment (about 1290).^[2][3] Middle French serement was still in use in the 15th century.^[1][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French sairement, earlier sagrament, inherited from Latin sacrāmentum (“oath”).^[5][6][4] The Latin word is derived from sacrō (“to make sacred, consecrate”), itself from sacer (“sacred”).^[2][7] It was first a legal term for the sum deposited by each party to a lawsuit and forfeited to the gods by the loser, then the military oath, and finally an oath in general, replacing classical iūsiūrandum.^[4][8][2] In church Latin it came to mean any sacred act or object, and that sense was borrowed separately as sacrement, the learned doublet of the inherited word.^[2][1]

Bloch and Wartburg note that the word is rare outside Gallo-Romance, with Old Occitan sagramen.^[4] Cognate with Old Italian sacramento, Catalan sagrament and Spanish sacramento.^[9][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is the Serments de Strasbourg of 842: Si Lodhwigs sagrament que son fradre Karlo jurat, conservat “if Louis keeps the oath that he swore to his brother Charles”, a promise made by calling on God as witness.^[8][5][2]

Semantic evolution

From its religious sense, a promise or statement made by calling God or a sacred object to witness, the word also came to mean a curse or oath of blasphemy: vilain serment is recorded in 1377, and this sense lasted into the classical period.^[5][2] From the 14th century the word was used more and more for a lay promise, in phrases such as prêter serment (1538), at first a legal phrase and later a general one, and faire serment de “to declare that” (1664).^[2][7]

In the 17th century it was also used for any firm promise or insistent statement, hence the ironical serment d'amant (1718), serment de joueur (1740) and serment d'ivrogne (1808), the last still current.^[2] Phrases such as rendre à quelqu'un son serment “to release someone from his oath” (1675) have gone out of use.^[2][8] History keeps serment civique (1790), the oath of loyalty to the first Constitution.^[2]

Timeline

• 842 – Sagrament appears in the Serments de Strasbourg.^[5][2]
• c. 1120 – The forms seirement and serement are recorded.^[2][7]
• c. 1160 – Sairement appears in the Roman d'Eneas.^[5]
• c. 1290 – The modern form serment is first found.^[2][3]
• 1356 – The participle assermenté is recorded.^[2]
• 1377 – Vilain serment “blasphemous oath” is recorded.^[5]
• 1538 – Robert Estienne records prêter serment.^[7][2]
• 1664 – Faire serment de appears in Boileau.^[7]
• 1790 – Serment civique names the citizens' oath to the Constitution.^[2]
• 1808 – Serment d'ivrogne is first recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A solemn oath: a statement or promise made by calling on God, a sacred object or one's honour as a pledge of good faith: Le témoin a parlé sous serment.^[10][11][12]
2. A solemn public undertaking, such as a professional oath, or the words in which it is made: prêter serment, serment d'Hippocrate.^[11][10]
3. A firm promise, especially a promise of lasting love or fidelity: Ils ont échangé des serments sous les tilleuls.^[11][12]
4. Serment d'ivrogne: a promise that will not be kept.^[11][12][2]
5. (dated) A curse or blasphemous oath.^[8][5]

Word family

• assermenté
• assermenter
• insermenté

Related words

• sacrement
• sacrer
• Latin sacrāmentum

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c d e f g Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 11, 34b
7. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
12. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)